


Buttercream

by serviceace



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Baker!Tsukishima, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Side Pairings: IwaOi; YamaYachi; BokuAka, inspired by binge watching ace of cakes on netflix, thanks duff goldman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 19:32:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10600737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serviceace/pseuds/serviceace
Summary: Tsukishima finds himself pining for a customer that orders a cake with black and gold trim.





	

“Hello, thank you for calling,” the sales manager chimed into the phone. “This is Shimizu speaking, how may I help you?” She listened intently, glancing down at the keyboard briefly every now and then to type in the client’s information. As the client spoke, Shimizu let out a soft laugh and shook her head. “It’s no trouble at all, really. It’s our job to help you; anything you can give us is inspiration enough.” She let the client brainstorm a bit before jotting down a few more notes, in pen this time, and upon reaching somewhat of a general start, she nodded swiftly. “If you’ll just hold on for one second, I know just the person to help.” Upon getting the okay, Shimizu put the client on hold and transferred the call.  “Tsukishima,” she called, “There’s someone calling for you.”

Over on the other side of the room, Tsukishima wiped his hands on his apron before reaching up to his wireless headphones. He turned off his music and unmuted himself, “Thanks Shimizu-san, you can put them through.” He heard the click of the connecting call and greeted their client politely. “Hello, this is Tsukishima.”

_“Tsukishima-kun? My name is Kuroo, I was wondering if you could help me out.”_

The blond picked up his offset spatula, flicking a large dollop of vanilla buttercream onto his yellow cake. “What can I do for you, Kuroo-san?” Spinning the revolving cake stand, Tsukishima began crumb coating his cake. He was quick and precise, smoothing down the sides and discarding the excess back into the bowl. He moved with such expertise, practically gliding across the cake with his spatula.

“ _Actually, two of my best friends are getting married in a couple of months and as the Best Man, I’ve been tasked with getting their cake.”_

“I see,” Tsukishima replied conversationally, though a little uninterestedly.

 _“Yeah,”_ Kuroo said, and the blond could practically see the other running a hand through his hair in an act of uncertainty. _“I guess I’m just a little stuck on what it should look like? I literally know nothing about wedding cakes so do you think you could help me think of something?”_

Having finished the cake’s crumb coat during Kuroo’s exchange, Tsukishima got up to put the cake away in the refrigerator so it could harden a bit and lock in the crumbs. “I can try, Kuroo-san,” he said, walking back to his station. He locked eyes with Shimizu and nodded his thanks when she gave him her notes from her conversation with Kuroo earlier. “How did your friends meet?” He asked, looking over her notes.

_“Huh? They went to high school together and played volleyball over at Fukurodani Academy.”_

The blond mentally hummed at that, taking special note of that particular bit of information. He knew of Fukurodani Academy; their volleyball team was probably the best in Tokyo and they always went to Nationals. He vaguely remembered his old high school coach talk about them, something about one of their wing spikers being nationally recognized as an ace player. “Tell me more about them.”

There was a soft laugh then, Tsukishima noticed, as Kuroo turned confident. _“Well, let’s start with Bokuto then. He’s a pretty friendly guy… Simple-minded but wise too if you can believe that,”_ Kuroo described, his tone a little fond. _“He gets crazy bad mood swings sometimes, like the slightest thing could set him off. He’s inspiring too; he’s the kind of guy that puts you at ease and in a way he’s reliable in that sense. He has this way about him that even if you weren’t on his team, you wanted to root for him too.”_ Tsukishima heard the other shift slightly and he could hear Kuroo leaning back comfortably. _“Akaashi on the other hand is calm, but he’s not quiet. He’s actually pretty blunt but he’s humble too. He’s almost like Bokuto’s rock, you know? He grounds him, not literally of course, but he puts Bokuto at ease, reassures him even.  The two of them are a great match honestly, they complement each other well.”_

The affection in Kuroo’s voice as he described his best friends did not go unnoticed by Tsukishima and the blond found that to be pretty cool. It was a little endearing in a way, hearing Kuroo talk about his best friends like that. _“Almost like Yamaguchi,”_ he thought to himself before making another note to himself on his notepad. “You said they went to Fukurodani Academy, right? If I remember correctly, and I probably do, their colors are black, gold, and white, right? We could start there.”

“ _I don’t think Akaashi would like a cake in any of those colors to be honest, he always struck me as the traditional type.”_ Kuroo then paused to let out a little laugh. _“Bokuto on the other hand would probably love it, he’s loud and annoying.”_

Although Tsukishima didn’t know Akaashi, he could appreciate the other’s way of thinking. If he was being perfectly honest, he hated cakes like that too. He had always been more of a traditional decorator, often sticking to minimal and pastel colors for his cakes. But for the importance of the business world, the customer was always right (though he could honestly argue that statement wrong). Giving it some real thought however, Tsukishima continued sketching. “In that case, we can try and blend those ideas together.” 

 _“Together?”_ Kuroo echoed.

“We’ll keep it simple,” he began, making some more notes for himself.  “Four tiers, vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream, white pearl borders, silver-dusted pearls, white fondant, and a black and gold trim.” Tsukishima shaded in the black trim going around each tier and mentally went back and forth between a black ribbon or black fondant. “I can pipe some decorations onto some of the tiers too.”

It probably sounded like jargon to Kuroo but the client sighed in relief, _“You’re the expert here, Tsukishima-kun. I trust you.”_

Tsukishima couldn’t help but snort a little at that, “I just make cakes, Kuroo-san.”

“ _I trust you_ ,” Kuroo said again, a little more genuinely this time.

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular and fiddled with his pen. “I’ll e-mail you some sketches soon.”

 

* * *

 

“Tsukki,” a voice sang out. “We’re here to pick you up!”

Despite this however, Tsukishima reached up to increase the volume of his headphones. He made sure to avoid eye contact but he should have known that something like that wouldn’t stop _him_ of all people. _“But maybe if I just don’t say anything, he’ll leave.”_ Opting for that approach, he continued to fold the macaron batter, hoping the other would just leave at being ignored. It wasn’t until he saw a finger inching towards the pastel batter that he clicked his tongue in annoyance and grabbed onto the other’s wrist. “Oikawa-san,” Tsukishima reprimanded immediately.

“So you _can_ hear me,” Oikawa smirked wolfishly. “And here I thought you were ignoring me, Tsukki!”

The blond rolled his eyes and dropped Oikawa’s wrist. “What do you want, Oikawa-san?”

“It’s almost time for practice so Iwa-chan and I came to get you! Did you forget?”

Tsukishima mentally sighed at that. _“Right, practice.”_ For the last several months or so, he and others would visit the local gym and play volleyball. Having all graduated college, this was their window to the sport they all loved. They usually would play simple scrimmages and pick-up games, switching teams every other week. “It’s more like I just didn’t want to go.” He then paused. “With you, anyway,” he added as an afterthought.

Oikawa frowned at that and clutched at his heart, shaking his head. “So mean, Tsukki! Your captain is hurt.”

“You’re not my captain anymore.”

The brunet ignored him and gently nudged the blond over towards the break room, “Hurry up and get changed! Iwa-chan’s waiting outside in the car and you know how much of a brute he is. He has no patience whatsoever!” Despite the sour look on Tsukishima’s face, Oikawa sported a winning look in his eyes as Tsukishima walked over to one of the part-timers. They exchanged a few words and nods before Tsukishima disappeared to go wash his hands and change, leaving his employee to finish up after him. Satisfied that he was able to convince Tsukishima (with minimal to little effort) into coming to practice, Oikawa let out a triumphant little hum. Floating over to Shimizu, Oikawa smiled charmingly. “Coming, Kiyoko-san?”

She paused in her typing before humming. “I will once I finish up here, don’t wait for me.”

“Work hard,” Oikawa encouraged as he lifted a hand to Shimizu in farewell and went to go wait outside the bakery. He walked over to the black sedan parked outside the bakery and found Iwaizumi scrolling through something on his phone in the driver’s seat. “Tsukki’s coming,” he told his best friend once he got inside. “He’ll be out soon; he’s changing now I expect.” Reaching over to fiddle with the radio, he found some a station playing jazz and turned the volume down slightly, humming along.

Iwaizumi looked up. “Oh hey,” he greeted, having just now noticed Oikawa. “Did we need to go pick up Yamaguchi too?”

“He said he’d meet us there.”

“What about Hanamaki and Matsukawa?”

“They’re finishing up their dinner date and will see us there. They also said to be ready for drinks tonight,” Oikawa replied swiftly.

“You keep tabs on everyone, don’t you?”

“A captain always knows.” The brunet then leaned forward, ghosting his lips over Iwaizumi’s. “But you know, Iwa-chan, you’re my favorite ‘tab’ to keep track of…” He felt Iwaizumi smirk against his lips as he placed a hand over his right cheek. He felt hot against him and the brunet hungrily inhaled his best friend’s delicious cologne. But just as Oikawa was about to kiss his boyfriend, a grunt to his right sounded in his ears. Looking over his shoulder, Oikawa waved cheerily, his cheeks a little flushed. “Yoohoo,” he drawled out. “Finished changing, Tsukki?”

Dressed in a comfortable white long sleeved sweater and his usual set of black shorts, Tsukishima looked down at the couple with a dull expression. “How shameless,” he commented dryly. “This is a public place. You know there might be children out, right?” He bowed respectfully at Iwaizumi and pointedly ignored Oikawa’s offended face. Throwing his things into the back seat and climbing in, Tsukishima pulled out his sketchpad. He had always been a productive person and figured the best use of his time would be to sketch out more of Kuroo’s cake. He also made sure to slip on his headphones so he could listen to music on the way there. They drove in companionable silence; Iwaizumi driving with one hand on the steering wheel, Oikawa engrossed with his phone, and Tsukishima jotting down more notes.

By the time they got to the gym, everyone was already in the process of warming up. “Thank you for having us!” They all shouted and bowed before getting ready to play. They practiced as usual with Oikawa and Daichi at the lead and as the hours dwindled down, Tsukishima found himself sitting on the benches and toweling his sweat away as they all took a break between each set. He watched as the idiot-duo of Kageyama and Hinata ran more laps around the gymnasium to keep their bodies warm and shook his head at them, he really couldn’t stand hot-blooded people like that. “How can someone that small and someone that stupid have so much energy?” Shaking his head slightly, he took a quick drink from his water bottle before surveying his friends silently. Sawamura was on his left talking to Sugawara while Azumane, Nishinoya, and Yamaguchi were practicing their serves and tosses. On the other side of the court, Iwaizumi was spiking Oikawa’s tosses with the rest of Seijou.

“Good work today, Tsukishima,” Daichi suddenly said, tipping his water bottle at him. “It’s good to see that you’re still on top of things despite not being at practice all the time.”

Regarding his former high school captain with calculating eyes, Tsukishima shrugged lightly. “You know how it gets around this time. If it had been up to me, I wouldn’t be here. Oikawa-san made me come.”

“Still,” Sugawara cut in. “It’s good to see you again.”

The blond nodded politely. “Yes, I supposed so.”

“How has work been?” The setter asked, genuinely wondering. “I know it’s graduation time but I hope it hasn’t been too busy.”

 “Oi, Tsukki!” Oikawa suddenly called. “You’re up next! Switch with Kindaichi and Mattsun! Chibi-chan, you come too!”

 

* * *

 

“Good morning,” Tsukishima greeted as he entered in through the front door of his bakery. Still tired from the night before, his hair was messier than usual and slightly disheveled. He stifled back a yawn and inclined his head, his glasses slipping down his nose. Looking towards the café front where Yachi was currently tending to a customer, he hummed contently. “Hello, Yachi-san.”

She had to peer around the customer’s tall figure to see him but once she did, she happily waved. “Good morning, Tsukishima-kun!” Yachi’s voice chimed. Turning back towards the customer, Yachi then bowed. “Thank you for visiting! We hope to see you again!”

The customer bowed respectfully back in thanks and turned around, locking eyes with Tsukishima. The blond frowned slightly as he looked at the man before him from head to toe and then back up again. He was handsome, that much was obvious, and he was tall too. He had black hair with bangs that swept over the right side of his face and although the bangs did well to cover them, Tsukishima could see the intelligence behind those amber eyes. He held himself confidently with his muscular and slender frame as he walked past the baker and Tsukishima could see the corner of his lips curving upwards. The smile on the customer’s face was lazy, smug, and cat-like, but he was handsome nonetheless. “Keep up the good work, _Tsukishima-kun_.”

Tsukishima raised a brow at the other’s voice, seemingly familiar to his ears, but nodded his head in a slight bow. “Um, yes. Thank you again for visiting.” The blond watched the customer leave with calculating eyes before turning his attention back to Yachi who was wiping down the counter. “Did you talk to Coach Ukai about Takeda-sensei’s party?”

“Yes! He sends his thanks and says he’ll treat you to sake the next time he sees you.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Tsukishima replied, adjusting his glasses. Vaguely recalling the events from his last alcoholic adventures with Coach Ukai, Takeda-sensei, and the rest of Karasuno’s alumni, he knew he was better off. They had all met up together to celebrate Karasuno’s victory over at Nationals and honestly, he barely remembered that night. Clearing his throat however, he focused on the task at hand. “Are you and Yamaguchi still good to deliver their cake? I’d go with you but I’ve got so much work ahead of me, I don’t think I should.”

“Yes, don’t even worry about it,” Yachi waved him off easily. “Just make sure you’re there before 5:00.”

“Of course.”

Taking his leave and moving towards the back of the bakery where his personal office was, Tsukishima shrugged off his coat and scarf. He took care of his daily routine; sifting through e-mails, looking over paperwork, and faxing out billing statements. “Graduation season really is the worst,” he groaned. He didn’t need to look at the calendar posted on the corkboard to know that he was booked for the next several weeks. “And then there’s wedding season…” April was by far the worst. The cherry blossoms were usually in bloom during that time of the year which meant it was primetime for weddings. Speaking of weddings, the blond blinked. “I still need to e-mail Kuroo-san.”

Pulling up Kuroo’s contact information that Shimizu had saved for him, he typed up a quick e-mail, and attached some of his sketches from the day before. They were simple sketches but he made sure to add in notes concerning all the measurements, colors, and other details that he’d be implementing in the cake. He hoped they were relatively easy to understand but figured Kuroo would call if he had any questions or concerns. The blond sat there for a few minutes before standing to his feet.

“Time to get to work then, I suppose,” Tsukishima said.

 

* * *

 

“Tsukki!”

Looking up at the sound of his name, Tsukishima instinctively lowered his headphones. He was currently making figures out of gum paste and had failed to notice his best friend walking towards him. His eyes connected with that of brown and he nodded back at Yamaguchi’s wave. “What is it?”

“Oikawa-san said to come to practice tomorrow night or else he’ll come get you himself,” Yamaguchi replied, grinning.

Tsukishima immediately rolled his eyes at that. “He can try.” Granted, things were about to get very busy at the bakery and he really couldn’t afford going to practice twice in a whole week. It was always a little difficult dealing with Oikawa whenever he was being whiny but thankfully he had Iwaizumi to fall back on. “I’ll just ask Iwaizumi-san to handle it.”  They conversed for a bit longer until Yachi came in and told them she was ready to leave. Yamaguchi had come by to pick Yachi up for their dinner date so once they left, Tsukishima slipped his headphones back on.

Now that Yachi had retired for the night, he sat alone at his station. Tsukishima never minded it of course, he honestly liked how quiet the bakery got when no one else was here. He wasn’t quite sure why but he always felt more productive under the glow of moonlight. The blond began absentmindedly humming along to the song he was currently listening to as he carved the mound of cake in front of him. It was for a couple celebrating their child’s first birthday and they had requested a two-tier cake with blue accents. It was a simple request really, just a rectangle base and a smaller one on top of it. He was sure he could finish it on his own tonight but just as he started to shave off the sides of the cake, the office phone started ringing. Walking over to Shimizu’s desk, he answered the phone promptly. “Hello, thank you for calling. This is Tsukishima speaking.”

 _“Tsukishima-kun! I was hoping it’d be you,”_ the person on the other side cheered.

“Yes?” Tsukishima answered, still not quite sure who this customer was.

There was a laugh. _“Sorry, it’s Kuroo. I called the other day about a wedding cake for my two friends?”_

Oh, right. Clearing his throat, Tsukishima wiped his hands on his apron as he moved to cradle the phone in the crook of his neck. “Hello Kuroo-san, I hope you’ve been well,” he said conversationally. “Did you get a chance to look over the sketches I e-mailed you this morning?”

_“I did! They look great and I’m looking forward to it.”_

“I’m glad,” Tsukishima answered, somewhat relieved. He could never truly gauge how people would react to his ideas and although he always had their best intentions at heart, sometimes people rejected his designs.  Unsure as to how long this conversation would last for though, Tsukishima transferred the call over to his headphones so he could get back to work. “Was there anything else you wanted?”

  _“Yeah actually, I was wondering if it’d be okay for you guys to deliver the cake to the venue before the afterparty? I’d come pick it up myself but I’m afraid I won’t have any time to.”_

Tsukishima hummed in reply as he started crumb coating the cake. “Yes, that’s fine. There is a delivery fee though.”

_“That’s fine, I figured so anyway. Could you guys e-mail me the new receipt as well then?”_

The blond jotted down that mental note, making sure he’d tell Shimizu later, and absentmindedly spun his offset spatula. “I’ll have Shimizu-san e-mail you tomorrow when she gets in. What time would you want it delivered by? Do you want us to serve it as well or will the caterers take care of it?”

Kuroo paused then, seemingly overwhelmed by the onset of questions. _“Uh,”_ he began. _“What do you suggest?”_

“It’s up to you Kuroo-san, but I will warn you that there is an extra charge for having us serve the cake. It’s part of the protocol since we’ll have to send one of the decorators along with the driver to deliver the cake. If you do end up choosing to have your caterers do it, your cake shouldn’t be too hard for them to cut either since it’s just a series of rectangular tiers but again,” Tsukishima said, pausing slightly. “It’s up to you.”

 _“Is there an extra charge for you to do it?”_ Kuroo then asked, chuckling softly.

Tsukishima stopped, his brows already furrowing in response. “Me?” he echoed. “Why do you want me to do it?”  

Kuroo laughed outright this time, probably due to the change in Tsukishima’s voice, and the blond could practically hear the other holding a fist to his mouth to quiet his fits of laughter. _“So this is what you regularly sound like, huh? I was beginning to think your “professional” voice was all that you had.”_ There was more shuffling then as Kuroo got comfortable. _“To answer your question though, it’s simple really. I trust you.”_

He’s not sure if it’s because it was late at night and there was cheesy orchestral music pouring through the bakery’s speakers right now, but a faint hint of rose dusted Tsukishima’s cheeks just then. Kuroo trusted him? After only spoken to him twice on the phone? What kind of sick quote-on-quote shoujo manga was this? With the blush still evident on his face, Tsukishima adjusted his glasses once more “I mean, I suppose? It depends on the time and day.”

 _“What works best for you?”_ Kuroo mused, somewhat intrigued.

“Huh?” Tsukishima asked back, more so demanded. The blush that had been previously been there on his face was now gone just as quick as it came. This was never good; his true personality was starting to come out. Was this guy dumb? Was he trying to provoke him or something? “It’s not up to me, Kuroo-san.”

_“Humor me, Tsukishima-kun.”_

At this point, the blond had to take a seat. He really couldn’t deal with decorating a cake _and_ entertaining Kuroo, especially when the latter was being as irritable as he was right now. “April is my worst month. It’s like the peak of wedding season and graduation all at the same time.” Letting out a frustrated sigh, Tsukishima rubbed at his temple. “It doesn’t help that Oikawa-san –”

 _“Oikawa-san,”_ Kuroo parroted. _“Are you talking about Oikawa Tooru, the setter?”_

“Yes? Do you know him?”

Kuroo laughed once again – he seemed to do that a lot, Tsukishima noted – _“I don’t think there isn’t anybody who’s anybody who hasn’t heard of Oikawa.”_

Well, that was true. His old college captain was after all known for being an ace setter and Tsukishima wasn’t lying when he said that he admired Oikawa’s ability to draw out 120% of his teammates’ potential. “So, you like volleyball then?” Tsukishima asked before he could stop himself.

_“Yep, I’m a middle blocker after all.”_

The bit of information was interesting. _“Kuroo-san is a middle blocker just like me,”_ the blond mused. Getting comfortable, he crossed his arms over his steel table, using it as a makeshift pillow, before laying his head down. Kuroo started talking again, something about watching pros as a child and mimicking their moves, and Tsukishima couldn’t help but notice the passion in Kuroo’s voice as he spoke. It’s a nice sound, he hates to admit, Kuroo’s voice that is.

He figures he could get used to hearing it.

Maybe, anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are much appreciated!
> 
> third gym blog: [@dailythirdgym](http://dailythirdgym.tumblr.com)  
> tumblr: [@serviceace](http://serviceace.tumblr.com)  
> twitter: [@aominaes](https://twitter.com/aominaes)


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